


soldier: brutus

by alondra (alaundry)



Series: ichor universe [5]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Blood and Gore, Body Horror, Evil Angel, Mental Breakdown, Power Dynamics, Sibling Rivalry, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-16 07:55:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29203947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alaundry/pseuds/alondra
Summary: renée faces herself and comes to a revelation.
Series: ichor universe [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2144103
Kudos: 1





	soldier: brutus

**“I can tell the wires are pulling at you, you know.”**

Renée’s reflection stared back at her, onyx hair tumbling down sharp shoulder blades. She could feel the bones and ligaments cutting into her flesh, and all she did was stand there. 

“I don’t know how well my spirit is adjusting to this vessel. It’s a little… petite, for my taste.”

“Petite. You mean to say young. She was a young, little girl, and you’ve sacrificed her for your cause.”

She paused, and sighed with the weight of a thousand carcasses pulling at her lungs. “Mm. Different interpretations. I distinctly remember her thanking me for doing this. She is in a better place now, you know.”

**“No. I** **_don’t_ ** **know. I suspect you don’t know, either. You are flying by the seam of your gut. What if it opens up and spills your entrails all over your battle plans? What will you have accomplished then?”**

Renée’s previously content expression melted into a stoic brick wall, facial color draining into her collarbones. They looked like weapons now, pointed fire pokers drilling their way through her beige skin. 

Blood pooled at the edges of her wounds. They were glistening, nothing but carmine pearls tracking down her sinewy limbs. She had four distinct holes, now— puncture wounds exposed at the edges of her chest, and two deep slashes where her shoulder blades were supposed to be.

Now, Renée took up the entire room with her majestic splendor of wings outstretching from her lithe back. She leaned in to stare right back at her pristine portrait, with deep set eyes. Gold poured from their sockets. 

She looked horrified. But  _ she _ looked beautiful.

“I will have accomplished… everything,” Renée murmured tantalizingly. With a resounding hiss, she plucked a snowy feather from her pinion. Suddenly, it was a long cutlass, the blade see-through and reflective. 

“With or without you.”

And now, the painting lay on the ground in shatters, no longer a reflection, but a snapshot of who she once was— who she was leaving behind.


End file.
